


Solitary

by musesmistress



Series: Happenstance Series [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 04:52:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musesmistress/pseuds/musesmistress





	1. Chapter 1

He hated it, every minute of it; his chest hurt from the intensity of his breathing, his mouth was dry from the heat and lack of water, it was hot and dry and he was covered in sand. It was safe to say he wanted nothing more than to be home, flat on his front in a bed, any bed, with Elizabeth laying beside him for company.

He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about her, not now as he ran as fast as he possible could along the outskirts of a small town; two injured men behind him and another two uninjured ones taking up the rear. But he couldn’t help it. She was something worth fighting for, something to keep him pressing forward through this sand covered hell to reach the Blackhawk he’d left two days ago.

Two days ago, he should have been back in Washington, should have been lying in that bed talking to Elizabeth. He knew there’d be hell to pay, he had disobeyed the order to leave, and he’d turned back against his superior’s advice and gone after the three missing men who he was meant to collect.

He was right; he knew he was, they were alive and trapped, cut off from their rescue with hundreds of Afghanistani men blocking their way through the town. John had seen them when he came looking, and found a very dangerous way around. He’d watched patrol men for the first day, taken in their pattern, determined to find the best way and time through so he could reach the other side.

He paused, raised his fist and dropped low before checking his watch. Right on time an armed man stepped into view, searched the area for several long minutes before turning his back to them and waiting.

John took the time to catch his breath, he checked over his shoulder at the injuries sustained by those closest to him and watched for a moment as the others moved in to help them. As he turned back he let his mind wander.

What was Elizabeth doing now, if she was lucky she’d be in a nice hot and relaxing bath, the bubbles just barely covering her soft, smooth skin. He longed to just reach out and touch her, wanted to kiss her lips and hold her close. The small niceties of their relationship, he missed desperately at this moment in time.

He glanced at the guard again, his back still towards them; twenty minutes, he remembered, the guy would be there for no more than twenty minutes before a second man would walk by and he’d follow him off.

John’s mind returned to his love, waiting patiently or possibly impatiently as he was now two days late for his return, his mind roaming over the possible welcomes she’d give him. 

A hug was guaranteed, she would wrap herself around him the second she could and he’d feel like she’d never let him go.

A kiss, one of passion and lust, one that would tell the tale to anyone watching that she loved him more than any man she’d ever met; he’d be only too willing to return such a gesture.

He’d want to take it all slow, go out for a lovely dinner somewhere special, the Italian place in Greenwich Village came to mind, before they returned to either of their homes and just snuggled together to watch the TV for a while.

He smiled to himself for a moment before craning his neck back towards the guarding man, if the men with him knew what he was thinking about; spending time with a beautiful woman instead of instantly stripping her clothes off – they’d be sure to make him pay. Two weeks in the desert and he just wanted to go back and snuggle?

He was starting to consider himself crazy, completely insane, no man in their right mind would go back to someone like Elizabeth and just ask to spend a little relaxing time with her; they’d get right down to business.

But he was a hopeless romantic; he’d already shown her that.

John stretched his neck up again and spotted the second man passing in front of the first, he moved off and John counted the thirty seconds and right on cue, the first guard walked away.

He signaled for the others to follow and started off again, a little slower this time, but still at a fair pace. He knew the two men would still be nearby and any loud and sudden noises would attract their attention, something he definitely didn’t want to do.

He shifted, pulling out from behind the wall he had been following and darted quickly across the opening to a small trench, he ducked into it and hit his knees, starting to crawl along it. It was a short trench and he could pass it and be back behind the wall before anything nasty came their way.

A sharp pang of pain shot through his left knee and he checked back over his shoulder in a stalling attempt to let the pain pass, as he carried on; he had a fleeting image of Elizabeth checking all the new cuts and bruises the night after he returned.

“I’m becoming obsessed,” he thought as he shook the images away.

He paused at the end of the trench and peeked around the end to make sure no one was there. He signaled back over his shoulder to the others to make sure they would do the same, before he stepped out, he climbed to his feet and moved quickly to the wall.

He looked back as the first man moved to the entrance, peeked out and started moving as quickly as possible towards him. John stepped out to meet him, helping him the last few steps to their next hiding place before turning and repeating the action with the following three men.

Safely behind their new wall, John knew the only obstacle between him and safety was a few tricky guards between the end of the wall and the next village. He moved off along the wall and once again allowed himself the pleasure of letting his mind wander.

This time, he didn’t think about what would happen when he got home, he returned to his last night before the mission. He’d spent the night with Elizabeth at his apartment, they’d decided on his as she was still refusing to let him stay at hers, her mother being a constant source of annoyance between them.

That and he didn’t have any of his things with him for the next day.

But that wasn’t what he wanted to think about, he wanted to go back to what they had done; passing quickly over the dinner and dancing they had done in a repeat of their first date, and going straight to the bedroom.

The last part of this evening he would also ignore, not because it had all gone horribly, quite the opposite, but because now was definitely not the time to be remembering how it felt to be making love to the beautiful Elizabeth Weir.

Completely naturally they had gone from relaxing together watching TV, to exploring the other’s body. Elizabeth had started it, when she’d unknowingly slipped her delicate fingers under his loose shirt onto his stomach and moved in lazy circles up to a scar at the top on one side.

She’d asked about it before starting to unbutton his shirt. He loved the way her fingers danced over each scar on his sides as she listened to his tales, loved the sound of her laughter as he made up some elaborate story for one or two and when she’d asked in her shocked tone “really?” he’d said no.

He’d surprised even himself when they both began undressing the other to check out scars, bruises and blemishes. He hadn’t been turned on, not straight away, he’d been intrigued by her, her soft skin; the small cut that was slowly turning into a scar on her back that ran for several centimeters along the left side of her spine, everything.

She had told him it was accidental, that she’d slipped at Simon’s and caught her back on the edge of the table before he caught her, told him that Simon had said she was lucky, one centimeter to her right, it could have severed her spinal cord. Somehow, John didn’t believe the whole thing accidental at all, but he had said nothing.

He moved down, finding another cut, wider and shorter on the inside of her right thigh, this one was a childhood accident, she’d caught her leg climbing down from a tree and torn the soft tissue, she’d limped for weeks. He smiled at the memory of Elizabeth being called “Lady-limps-a-lot” at school for months.

John snapped back to reality as he reached the end of the wall and looked out, only three of the normal seven men stood between them and the way out, all three of them, he was pleased to note, had their backs towards them. He counted the hiding places between him and safety before turning back to his accompanying men. 

‘There are three men, normally seven,’ he told them noting thankfully that none of his party had leg injuries that would slow them down too much. ‘Four points to stop at,’ he continued to point out the jagged large boulders that lined their surroundings, ‘get to one, check the men then move on. Once you’re inside the next village, stop by the statue on the left.’ 

He indicated for one of the injured men and pointed to the first hiding place, before looking around the corner, gun aimed and ready to check the three guards. He indicated a go and the first man moved off. He listened, watching the men as his teammates moved off from behind him. He heard the last one move off and moments later one of the men waiting a distance away turned around.

Ducking back behind the wall, John looked out across the sandy covering, each of his men were safely standing behind a rock and looking in his direction. He could see the first man who had moved away from him, he was close, only one more moment of movement and the soldier would be safe.

He eased back to the very edge of the wall and looked around, the man who had turned was looking along the edge where the boulders stood then he turned and moved to talk to one of the others.

John signaled a go and watched the men move, darting quickly out of their spaces behind a rock to disappear behind another. John crouched, watching the men again, from the corner of his eye he watched the team move again as he waited.

He stood a moment later and as the last man moved from the second rock to the third, John took off at a run towards the first. He reached it, took a several deep breaths in a silent thanks to anyone who was paying attention before looking around the corner to find it safe to move.

He took off again, darted behind the second rock and calculated that the last of his team was now one step away from safety. He looked, it was clear, he moved. One more rock, two more runs and he was out of there. He looked, it was clear, he moved.

His eyes caught sight of the two talking men as he vanished from their view, they had turned, he squeezed his eyes closed, hoping against hope that they hadn’t seen him run behind the last rock. He was almost there, he could practically taste freedom; he could just smell Elizabeth’s strawberry shampoo, the feel of her body against his, the touch of her lips and the taste of her mouth.

He peeked out, the two men had moved a fair distance from their last places and were still watching the area nearby; John looked back the way he came and suddenly realised why they were watching. The sand in his wake had risen off the land, disturbed unnaturally from its stilled location and they were discussing the possibility that a person had done this.

They turned and moved quickly back towards the third in their party and John took the opportunity, he took off, moving quickly across the last long distance and ignored the sudden shout as he moved behind the wall of the village, safe at last. He knew the villagers would hide them, knew they would rather have American soldiers in their town than their own people.

They were safe.


	2. Chapter 2

She was tired of this, this was the third party this week that her mother had done, she’d shown up for all of them, drank lots of alcohol and was dragged home by Colin; it was her way of coping, but it didn’t make it any easier to handle.

John had been gone for three weeks, half a week more than he was meant to be gone - two days if she was honest with herself, but either way, she missed him and doing these ridiculous parties didn’t help in the slightest.

She pulled up as far from her mother’s house as possible, making it easier to get away later; she climbed out of the car, trumped over the rain covered mud of her mother’s lawn and stepped drenched and muddy into the entry hall.

The last straw for her had been the last party, where her dear mother, had not only told every man that she was single and ready to marry, but had arranged three dates, with three different men. Today however, she was either going to get on her mother’s bad side permanently, or push her to do something drastic.

Clad in the scruffiest pair of jeans she could find and t-shirt that matched in state, Elizabeth crossed the entry hall and pushed open the door to the sitting room. On the other side, ten or so men dressed smartly in suits looked back at her, Elizabeth smiled, her mother’s face from the far side of the room was priceless and she knew from it that she would have to pay for her state later.

‘What the hell do you think you’re doing,’ her mother bellowed across the room sounding indignant as she looked her daughter over from head to toe. A few of the guys chuckled at the words and Elizabeth felt a sudden surge of satisfaction seep through her body.

‘I didn’t come for your party, I’m sick of these “get togethers” you set up,’ she said clearly, ‘I just thought I’d come and make sure everyone knew that I have no intention of marrying any of them.’

Elizabeth watched as her mother shoved her way past two men towards her and stopped close to her face.

‘You’re showing me up, Elizabeth,’ she said quietly so only Elizabeth could hear her.

‘You’ve shown me up and off three times a week since John left,’ Elizabeth said, not caring to keep her voice down, ‘this is payback for all the humiliation you’ve put me through. This is revenge for setting it up so the man I love got reassigned.’

Out of the corner of her eye Elizabeth caught sight of Colin, his face a twisted split between shock and respect. Colin had been a great friend since the day Elizabeth had learned of her mother ploy to split her and John up, she’d left her mother in the parking lot of the Air Force base and gone to him.

She had stayed with him that night, sleeping in his spare room and avoided the party that her mother had set up; it was a few hours after the start of that party that her mother had shown up to show her disappointment in her daughter.

Elizabeth had hid after that, staying once again at the cottage on the edge of town with Colin keeping her company whenever he could. They had discussed ways around it, plots to pretend to date to keep Margret away from her and John, but she couldn’t do it, couldn’t convince herself her mother would believe it – not even for a second.

‘You manipulated a US Air Force General to have John reassigned permanently just so I couldn’t be with him,’ she said, her voice dropped this time, but still clearly heard by everyone in the room. ‘I don’t know what I did to make you so angry that you have to constantly find ways to leave me either heartbroken or depressed, but whatever it was, I’m sorry.’

‘Stop being so stupid, Elizabeth.’

‘Am I being stupid? Am I being the fool, or am I the one who you won’t let be happy?’ Elizabeth paused; her eyes darted around the room at the gathered men, most of them she knew, most of them she had talked to before. ‘I love him, mom; I’ve never loved anyone in my life like I love him,’ she blinked back tears that threatened to escape, ‘why can’t you just accept that?’

‘He’s not right for...’

‘Shouldn’t I be the judge of who is and isn’t right for me?’ She looked around. ‘Do you even know the people you’ve invited here?’ Elizabeth moved off, walking through the gathered crowd. ‘Did you know that Peter is already married, he comes purely because his parents don’t know,’ she looked apologetically at Peter and moved on, ‘that Craig’s idea of a perfect woman is a tall blond model and he’s been dating such a person for three years?’

‘I don’t think this is fair.’

‘I don’t think what you’re doing to me is fair,’ to Elizabeth’s surprise the men around her nodded in agreement with her, ‘should I carry on?’ there was no answer so Elizabeth moved to the right and paused beside Colin. ‘This man,’ she pointed to her close friend, ‘he brought John to that party, did you know that?’ her mother shook her head so Elizabeth continued.

‘John is Colin’s best friend, has been since they were in school; but that’s not why I’ve been staying with Colin for the last few weeks. I’ve been at his place all this time, because I know he won’t hurt me, won’t take advantage of me,’ she chanced a glance at Colin who nodded every so slightly. ‘He’s gay; he only ever comes here to see if anyone else you invited was just like him.’

A few of the men nearby shifted uncomfortably as Elizabeth kept a hold on her mother’s gaze, the shock on her face was evident; she hadn’t known a single thing about the people in the room.

‘Why can’t you just be happy for my choices?’ Elizabeth asked watching the flush of emotions that ran across her mother’s face, anger and embarrassment amongst them.

‘I want to thank you all for coming,’ Margret said to the crowd at large, ‘I’m sorry to disappoint you all.’

The crowd moved towards the door, a slow murmuring beginning between the men as they shifted. A few bid farewell to Elizabeth and she noticed that one of them in particular said a goodbye to Colin who stood where he was at Elizabeth’s side. 

Elizabeth had taken hold of his hand in a silent request for him to stay as the crowd started move. When everyone else was finally out of the house and the front door shut behind them, the silence was broken.

‘You could have talked to me at any time, but you insisted on making me look stupid, didn’t you?’

‘I tried to talk to you,’ Elizabeth spat back, ‘but you’re too stubborn, you set your mind on separating me and John and you didn’t want to hear anything else.’

‘Did you even care that I would look like a fool; that from now on I’m going to be the butt of every joke at poker night?’

‘Do you only care about yourself? Did you even listen to what I said about John?’

‘You like him, I get the picture.’

‘I LOVE HIM!’

The room fell silent and all Elizabeth could think was that she was running in circles; she was squeezing Colin’s hand now and she couldn’t push off the frustration that was causing the action. Tears streamed down her face but she didn’t look away, she would convince her mother of this fact or she’d die trying.

‘I love him,’ she said again, more calmly than the first time, ‘why can’t you accept that?’

‘Elizabeth,’ Margret started, her weakness pushing through; she didn’t like seeing Elizabeth hurt and upset and it was something Elizabeth hated to show.

‘Do you know how I measure love, mom,’ she swallowed and moved a step closer to her parent finally releasing Colin’s hand, ‘I measure it, by how I remember seeing you and dad together.’

She sobbed out the last few words before drawing in a harsh breath and dropping her head.

‘I used to think,’ she continued after a moment, ‘that there was no love greater than what you had, but I was wrong, because I found it, something stronger; something more pure than what you had. I’d be the first to admit that I found it at one of your stupid parties and that I never thought it would happen with someone so completely different from me, but it did.’

‘Elizabeth...’

‘You broke my heart when you had him transferred, and I don’t think I can forgive you for that.’

She moved away from her mother and opened the door out of the sitting room, before she could move to the front door, her mother’s voice stopped her.

‘Elizabeth,’ she waited where she stood, her back to her mother. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you loved him that much.’

For the first time in over a year, Elizabeth believed her; everything she had said about Simon in the past, everything she had said about wanting Elizabeth to be happy, she hadn’t been able to believe a single bit of it, but these words were from her heart.

‘Thank you,’ Elizabeth whispered before pulling open the front door and stepping out into the rain followed closely by Colin who put up an umbrella against the downpour and wrapped his free arm around her waist.


	3. Chapter 3

John bounced down the steps of the plane, he was eager to get back home, get hold of his cell phone and call Elizabeth for the first time in more than three weeks. He would invite her over, jump in the shower and be out and dressed when she showed up.

Except that things were never that easy, he could see the General standing waiting for him at the edge of the strip, his shoulders squared and his back straight. John knew the look only too well, it told him something was about to change that would stop him from going home in the next week or so.

‘Sir,’ John said saluting as he reached the General; he dropped the salute as the General returned it and stood straight backed and waited.

‘You disobeyed an order, Sheppard.’

‘Yes sir, I did, in order to save lives.’

‘You put the operation at risk, Sheppard.’

‘That might be so sir, but...’

‘You’re being reassigned, the plane on strip three over there,’ John looked to where the General indicated, ‘that plane will take you to a connecting plane where you will meet with a Colonel Laurel, she will escort you to McMurdo.’

‘McMurdo?’

‘You have hearing problems Major? McMurdo, high level security clearance, no outside contact and lots of snow and ice.’

‘No sir,’ John said with a cheeky look on his face. ‘I guess I better go gather my things,’ John said hoping to grab the chance to make a quick call. 

‘Denied, you’re to be on that plane in five minutes.’

‘Yes sir,’ John said bitterly and saluted before turning and heading towards the aircraft.

When he reached the plane his brain was working overtime, wondering through the possibilities of how he could contact Elizabeth, just to tell her one last time that he loves her.

‘Sheppard,’ he turned, bringing his thoughts back to reality, ‘is this your flight?’ 

‘Yeah,’ John replied down-hearted at the prospect.

‘Why so glum? New adventure: new base, new boss to piss off.’

‘No shower, no girlfriend, no company in my bed, no way of telling her I would be able to see her again or even letting her know I’m still alive.’

John hung his head as he finished the sentence and heaved a heavy sigh, Elizabeth would assume the worst if he didn’t think of a way to contact her in the next few minutes; she would spend her life thinking he’d been killed out in Afghanistan, thinking she’d never see him again. John didn’t want that, nor did he want to let her think he wouldn’t see her again, because he damn well would.

John heard the whirring of the plane engine as it started up and raised his head to see the soldier in front of him standing with a cell phone held out to him.

‘Be quick,’ Crabbe said with a smile on his face, ‘I’ll stall for as long as I can so you can call her before you go.’

John took the phone and quickly dialled the only number he could remember, if he was lucky, which as things were going lately he definitely wasn’t, Colin would be with or near Elizabeth.

~~**~~

Colin climbed out of the car at the cottage and pulled the bag of clothes from the back seat; he kicked the door shut and moved towards the open patio door. As he stepped into the warm room his phone buzzed and he dropped the bag on the nearest chair to grab it.

‘Dunlop,’ he answered curtly, this wouldn’t be the first time today Margret Weir had called him to find out where Elizabeth was.

‘Colin.... John... with Elizabeth?’

‘I can’t hear you John, where are you?’

‘...reassigned... leaving... twenty minutes.... find Elizabeth.’

The phone went dead; Colin looked at it for a second before the information sunk in, he moved quickly, shoving his phone back into his pocket and moving into the main house to find Elizabeth Weir.

‘Elizabeth,’ Colin called and he shoved open the door to the main bedroom not caring for a second that she might be in the middle of changing her outfit. ‘We have to go, now,’ he bellowed as he crossed the room and grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. 

He ignored the fact that she was packing her case on the chair and the shocked look on her face and dragged her from the room and out to the car.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked, as he started the car and backed out of the driveway, he pulled his belt on as he moved and waited until he was on the main road before explaining.

‘John called; we’ve got twenty minutes to get to the base before he’s on a plane out of here.’

Silence followed and Colin chanced a look at the woman at his side, his best friend’s girlfriend, partner, and lover. However he looked at it, he knew that this chance meeting had to happen, that he had to reach that base with her before that plane left.

At his side, Elizabeth was in shock and silence had fallen as she turned to look out the front window, she fidgeted slightly, the anticipation that she would finally be able to see her lover again, one last time, her mother wouldn’t even know.

He turned a corner and found himself at the back end of a long line of cars; he cursed and caught sight of Elizabeth’s head dropping to her chest at the irony of the situation.

~~**~~

‘We can’t wait any longer sir,’ the lieutenant called over the roar of the engine. John stood on the stone ground at the base of the stairs; he needed just a few more minutes. A few more minutes and he could see the beautiful woman one last time, kiss her one more time, and promise her he’d find a way.

Just a few more minutes.

‘Our air time is running out sir,’ the lieutenant added, he was desperately trying to get the man onto the plane and short of pulling him; he was running out of ideas. ‘We have to take off now.’

John scanned the area again, nothing, no sign of Colin or Elizabeth, no sign of anyone for that matter. His mind whirred with the engine. He could write a letter, tell her where he was; if only he had paper and a pen to write with.

‘I love you Elizabeth,’ he whispered to the empty airfield before turning and starting slowly up the stairs. He paused at the top and looked back, the lieutenant standing at the bottom was watching intently, waiting for him to step off the ladder so he could move it from the craft.

He finally turned, stepped into the plane and moved to his seat, sitting against the window so he could continue to watch for her, one final hope that he would at least get to see her one last time.

The plane began to taxi, moving out along the stone field and blocking his view for a few minutes as it lined up with the runway, it turned, turning John’s view and he quickly unbuckled his belt and moved to the other side of the craft.

As he sat down, he caught sight of movement out on the field, two people climbing quickly from a car and running towards the runway. John caught sight of the red shirt and brown curls as the plane gained in speed and his view was lost to the speeding landscape.

Just a few more minutes and he would have been able to say his goodbye, but now it was too late. John sat back in his seat, resting his head on the chair behind him; he closed his eyes, squeezing them shut to hide the pain he felt.

~~**~~

She had stopped just beyond the gate, her eyes fixed on the plane as it moved quickly along the runway. Colin could see the horror on her face, in her eyes as her final chance to see John gained in speed and left the ground.

He watched the trail of a single tear as it made a quick path down her face, the calm she was exhibiting frightened him, he was waiting for the pain to snap, the anguish to push out and the calm collected woman he knew so well to crumble.

He didn’t have to wait long, he had to look away as she seemed to cave in on herself, slowly bending over as her breath caught and she struggled to breathe, he looked back as a sob escaped her lips and found her slipping to the ground, arms protectively around herself. 

He swallowed, he could feel the pain reflected from her eyes as they slowly closed and Colin knew that John would be in a similar state, even if he refused to show it.

He imagined for a moment, his friend sitting on the aircraft, facial features fixed in his military decorum, shoulders squared as he swallowed his emotions several times, as he mentally pushed the images of Elizabeth from his mind for later reference. 

A cry from Elizabeth made him snap back to reality and his feet began to work, he moved forward, crouched behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pull her back against him. He could feel her whole body shuddering against him as she screamed in pain, a pain that shot straight to Colin’s own heart.

He’d heard cries of pain from women being hurt and hit; he’d heard pain from children as they fell in accidental injuries, but never before had he heard this kind of pain, the pain of a broken heart.

He had to pull hard to get Elizabeth back on her feet, dragging her away from the painful airfield where her lover was last seen on a plane leaving for what was possibly forever; they had no idea where he was. Colin had tried several times to find out where he would have gone, even the closest friends John had on the base had no idea where his new location was, “it’s a classified location” he was told time and time again.

He had to focus on the road ahead of him hard as he drove through the streets to Elizabeth’s apartment building and held her close as he walked through the lobby of her building and into an open elevator with her.

‘Where are we?’ she breathed against his chest as the doors opened on her floor.

‘Home, Elizabeth; I’ve brought you home.’

‘There is no home without John,’ she sobbed and Colin had to reach out quickly with his other arm as she threatened to crumble again.

He’d seen Elizabeth go through a lot in the last few weeks, her mother’s disapproval of the man she loved, the parties she was forced to endure while he was gone; the fact that he was gone alone had made her withdrawn, she’d only sought comfort from Colin.

But seeing her now, lying on her own bed, the comforter pulled up to her waist was heartbreaking and Colin wished briefly that Margret Weir were here to see what her actions had done to her only child.

He caught sight of the stuffed bear across the room, and suddenly realised why Elizabeth had turned her back to him; he’d heard about this particular teddy, won by John on their second date, but around the neck of this bear, tied with a red piece of cotton was a string of photos taken in one of those booths in the shopping mall.

The bottom picture was them kissing, a kiss he could tell just by looking at it, meant a lifetime of love between them.

Elizabeth sobbed from the bed, and Colin moved from his chair beside it to sit behind her on the mattress, he leaned to look at her face, her eyes closed, she shifted uncomfortably, her dreams probably punctured by the image of John Sheppard being pulled from her arms and out of her life forever.

Colin hiccupped slightly, his own emotions caught in his throat at the thought that she’d cried herself into pure exhaustion while looking at the only memory she had of her lover.

‘The next few weeks are going to be hell,’ he said quietly before kissing Elizabeth’s cheek and moving towards the door. ‘I’ll be here for as long as you need me, Elizabeth.’


	4. Chapter 4

She hated the office. Now that she could see it, she hated it. I had looked much better filled with boxes that held reports for her to catch up on; the brown marble effect enclosures hid the grey stale walls that surrounded her.

She’d only been here at the SGC for a few weeks, survived the first of her horrible encounters with the Goa’uld with a “flare” as Doctor Jackson had put it and now she was sat browsing the latest reports.

She wasn’t really paying all that much attention, her mind focused on other important things, well important to her that is. Three weeks working with the US Air Force, and all she got back when she asked where John Sheppard was stationed, was: “That location is classified.”

‘Classified my ass,’ Elizabeth muttered under her breath; she was supposed to have what they called “top level clearance” yet she couldn’t find the whereabouts of a single Major by the name of Sheppard.

Colonel Jack O’Neill had been somewhat of a thorn in her side since she had arrived. She had yet to determine if this was on purpose or if he was actually as dumb as he acted. In a private meeting with him, she had thought that he had understood something she had said, but that moment passed quickly as a childish grin had spread eagerly across his lips.

Major Samantha Carter was torn between seeing Elizabeth with the respect of her base leader, and seeing her as the witch who took General Hammond’s place. She could understand this, could even sympathise with the Major, which made it easier to talk to Sam when the need arose, and she found herself accepting the woman’s opinion on a regular basis.

Teal’c was... well Teal’c, or so she had been told; he answered questions, gave information when required, but otherwise, scared the living daylights out of her.

It was Doctor Daniel Jackson who Elizabeth was most comfortable with, it had been this linguist that she had asked for help in finding John, she had shocked herself when he had asked her why she wanted to find this particular man and she had told him the truth. When she had winced and bit her lower lip, he had leaned in with a sly grin and promised silence on the matter, she had relaxed.

But still, he had knocked on her door several times, told her the route he had taken to find the Major and then the same result each time, “I’m sorry, Doctor, that location is classified.”

She looked up at the knock on the door and puffed out a quick breath of air, she hated the place, the weight of the work and the constant interruption. The only thing she did like was that she was no longer in Washington, no longer in reach of her mother and she’d had no time to tell the woman where she was going.

The last time she had talked to her mother was two days before she’d been called to the President elect’s office, her mother had apologised for her actions, almost begged Elizabeth for acceptance as she’d turned her back and walked away.

‘Come in,’ she called at last and placed a pleasant smile on her fact to greet whoever had come to see her.

‘Elizabeth,’ Daniel said as he stepped in a smile on his face that Elizabeth classed as different from the usual grin.

‘What brings you to my prison today, Daniel,’ she joked at him and caught the short chuckle as he looked around.

‘As prisons go, this one isn’t all that bad, is it?’

‘No, I guess not,’ she indicated a chair and waited as Daniel sat down and composed himself.

‘I wanted to tell you about something that I’m not sure anyone’s actually told you about,’ he said quirking a brow to see her reaction. Elizabeth shifted and waited for him to continue. ‘The outpost in Antarctica,’ he started, ‘I know it was in the last few reports, but I also know that none of them explain about a team of scientists that are there to examine the findings.’

‘No, it wasn’t mentioned,’ she told him, narrowing her eyes at him, ‘nor have I been told what this outpost is.’

‘Oh well, it’s an Ancient outpost, we found the second Stargate not far from the outpost a few years ago along with an Ancient woman.’

‘I read that report, Daniel,’ she said curtly, wishing vaguely that he’d get to the point or leave her to wallow in the pit of despair about her life.

‘Yes, right, of course you did,’ Daniel stuttered slightly. ‘Anyway, this outpost seems to be the location that the Ancients came to when they left Atlantis.’

‘They left Atlantis at the bottom of the ocean and moved to the South Pole?’ The irony of what he was suggesting caused her brow to quirk again and she briefly wondered just how people from this city could get out of it once it had been submerged.

‘Well, yes and no,’ Daniel said. ‘You see it’s my interpretation of the writing in the outpost, from what I’ve been sent, that Atlantis wasn’t on Earth to begin with. If that’s true, then somewhere in this galaxy the city is still sitting waiting to be found and...’

‘Daniel,’ Elizabeth cutting him off quickly before he turned his explanation into a full blown rant about the lost city, ‘why are you telling me this.’

‘I, erm, thought you should know,’ Daniel said unconvincingly and Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously. ‘I want to go to the outpost, check out all the artefacts and text, I think I can find Atlantis, but I can’t do it from here.’

‘Daniel, I’m not sure that I can do anything to help you.’

‘You’re in charge of me, you send me wherever you want me to go,’ his words made Elizabeth think of him as a chunk of meat on sale, sold to the highest bidder using it to cook the right meal.

‘The President is reconsidering his move to put a civilian in command here; I don’t think my orders are going to get you anywhere.’

‘I was hoping that was just a rumour.’

‘Afraid not,’ she said with a sympathetic look. Finding the lost city of Atlantis would be the greatest discovery available, and she would love to give him that chance, hell she’d love to be there when it happened, but she knew the chances of that happening were slim and depleting quickly.

‘It’s probably just as well,’ Daniel said offhandedly, ‘I heard the last person in command of the science team left because one of the guys was “unbearably arrogant”.’

‘One of the scientists?’ Elizabeth said, only half surprised at this information. ‘Not completely shocking, most of them tend to have an ego to match the size of their brain power.’

‘Yeah, well, the male variety anyway,’ Daniel said and catching Elizabeth’s raised eyebrows hastened to add: ‘Sam’s not like that.’

‘No,’ she said with a chuckle, ‘she’s definitely not like that.’

‘I think you’d be good in command of the science teams,’ Daniel said after a moment’s silence.

‘Ahh, the other reason you’re here.’

‘I just thought...’ Daniel was cut off by the phone on Elizabeth’s desk ringing.

The red phone rarely rang and the last time it had done so, the President had told her about their meeting to determine if having her in charge was a good idea. She was sure now, two days later that this was the result of that meeting.

‘Weir,’ she said politely and listened to the President as he explained. ‘Yes sir,’ she said after a moment, her head hanging slightly as mixed feelings of relief and disappointment crossed her mind.

She continued to listen as he explained the reasons for her replacement, and requested her help with another project, as he dropped a name down her ear Elizabeth’s head snapped up and caught Daniel as he made his way silently from the room.

~~**~~

‘You just thought...,’ Elizabeth said, turning into Daniel’s office half an hour later. She pulled her jacket straight as she watched him look up from the desk and smile at her.

‘Sorry?’

‘You were about to say something, in my office before the phone rang. You started with “I just thought...”, but never got to finish.’

‘Ah,’ he said and put down the magnifying glass he was holding. ‘Well I guess it’s pointless me saying it would be a good idea for you to put in for a transfer while they were re-considering your post.’

‘Yes, it is pointless,’ she said and moved towards him. ‘I’ve been told that yesterday a very polite and well worded letter was received by the committee; the letter detailed my skills and why this particular person thought I’d be good as the commanding officer of a science outpost in Antarctica.’

‘I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said it wasn’t me,’ Daniel said with a raised brow and sheepish look.

‘No,’ Elizabeth said, fighting off the urge to laugh at the look on his face, ‘not considering I’ve been told this letter was signed by Doctor Daniel Jackson.’

‘Ah.’

‘I’ve been reassigned to the science team and expedition team to find the lost city of Atlantis,’ Elizabeth told him, ‘I’ll be flying out to McMurdo the day after tomorrow,’ she picked up an artefact from his desk and studied it for a moment, ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to break in another leader, Daniel.’

‘I’m getting used to it,’ he said with a smile. ‘Any idea who?’

Elizabeth grinned, placed the artefact carefully on the table before patting his arm and turning from the room, as she reached the door she heard him call her name.

‘You’ll just have to wait and see, Doctor Jackson.’


	5. Chapter 5

Every week there was one of these, some crazy over excited scientist needing transport to an outpost that could only be reached by helicopter. John, it seemed, was the only man out there who didn’t complain when the journey came up, therefore, it was always he who had to climb in to the pilot’s seat.

This particular crazy scientist he had met before, he had dropped off two very quiet women and picked up one very loud and obnoxious man.

‘Hey, you’re the guy who picked me up last time,’ the man said looking John over.

‘Yeah, that would be me, the only one stupid enough to fly out there.’

‘You don’t even remember my name do you?’

‘I tried not to listen to you the whole way back,’ John was in a bad temper lately, the men around him called him “Major Moans” but none of them knew the reason he was so pissed off at everyone.

‘McKay, Doctor Rodney McKay, I’m the lead... scientist out at the... err, well outpost.’

‘Right,’ John stretched the word out as he watched the man’s hands motion wildly and then stepped out of his way and climbed into the helicopter to start the pre-flight.

As expected, Rodney climbed in beside him and against all John’s wishes he started babbling about being in command until a replacement was found. John donned his headset and took off, his only consolation was that this was only a forty-five minute flight and the trip back would be done in silence.

He tuned the man out as he went on to talk about all the people he worked with, asking now and again if John had met them. Every time the question was asked John replied with a firm “no” even though he hadn’t even heard the names.

He touched several times on his genius and at these points, John made some jerk of the vehicle that freaked him out, he’d grip the side of his chair and ask what just happened.

‘Air pocket,’ John told him.

It had been over four months since he’d arrived here in McMurdo, the memory of Elizabeth running towards him at the air base haunted him every night, his thoughts of her had lingered in the day and John had spent the first month doing this trip in a world of complete numbness.

He’d perfected the art of not listening to anyone on the trip and going from McMurdo air field to the outpost on autopilot. He could do the trip with his eyes closed, from take off to landing in either direction.

‘We’re here already?’ Rodney asked jerking John from his ravine. ‘Oh well, looks like my last two days in command are going to pass quicker than expected.’

‘Last two days?’ John questioned for some reason taking notice in the man’s comment.

‘Yeah, I just told you our new “commander” was coming in day after tomorrow, a female diplomat.’

‘Wonderful, that should make for a great trip over,’ John said savagely. Now he’d have to find a way to pass on another trip out, the last thing he needed was a diplomat breathing down his neck. He could imagine the dull conversation, the endless string of words that he had no idea what they meant, or cared to know for that matter.

He landed in good time, stretched his legs for a moment as Rodney bid him goodbye and disappeared into the elevator at the entrance to the outpost.

On his way back, John wondered who this new woman would be, some high strung posh woman who only knew how to get what she wanted by speaking in tongues that no one but other politicians understood.

He sighed as he remembered that the woman he loved was a diplomat, Elizabeth had made a living in annoying the politicians instead of working with them, she never spoke words he didn’t understand; she was normal, beautiful and managed to make his heart flutter like no other woman had done before.

He pushed the memories away as he approached the base again, he would punish himself later for thinking all diplomats where stuck up bitches.

He landed, ran through the checklist quickly and climbed from the helicopter and made his way to the warmth of the base.

He crossed the entry hall and entered the flight office ahead; he was greeted by several people, including a young woman who followed him across the room to the schedule for the next month.

Nothing more for the rest of the day, paperwork for tomorrow and three flights back to the outpost, one unnamed passenger the day after tomorrow which John guessed would be this new diplomat that would be running whatever research went on at the outpost

One by the name of Daniel Jackson, Doctor, who John figured would be another over excited scientist with too much brain and not enough social skill.

Then the final one that month was to escort General Jack O’Neill, he’d heard that name before, but it had always been surrounded with big red warning lights that told him the man was more classified than his current location.

‘Easy month Major,’ Sabrina said from behind him. He looked at her over his should, long blond hair and blue eyes, dark long eyelashes that she flashed at him and he knew exactly what she was after.

‘Guess so,’ John replied and turned to leave but found his passage blocked.

‘What’s your rush?’ Sabrina asked, walking her fingers up his chest. He was used to this by now, every time he was in the room, regardless who else was there, Sabrina would try and seduce him.

‘I was planning on taking a nap,’ his crude school boy charm was the wrong thing to use at this moment in time, right along with the suggestion of using his bed.

‘Oh, well would you like me to wake you up in a few hours?’ He felt her hands slide up his thigh and jumped as she neared his crotch, he hated this woman, she had probably slept with every man on the base and he was her next prize. 

He hoped to hell Elizabeth would never look at him like she was, as if he was a piece of meat sitting on the counter, ready cooked and looking juicy.

‘I have an alarm, thanks Sabrina.’

He pushed past her and moved back out into the corridor and towards the locker rooms; he stepped in and pulled open his small locker with a shudder.

‘Did you go into the office again?’ 

‘Yeah, but I think eventually she’ll start coming in here to get me,’ John said snidely.

‘Sheppard, you’re a glutton for punishment,’ the soldier joked and moved away. ‘Be careful in there next time, you might come out without your clothes.’

‘I’ll send you in for me,’ John called after him.

He ditched his jacket and belt into the locker and slammed it shut. Sabrina was one of the many things he hated about this base, the lack of command structure, Sabrina, the lack of privacy, Sabrina and the growing lack of Elizabeth.

As he moved back to the corridor and headed to his room, he considered what would happen if Elizabeth and Sabrina ever met with him in the room.

‘Elizabeth would win,’ he chuckled to himself as he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

‘Who’s Elizabeth?’ Gareth asked from the top bunk.

‘No one.’

‘So what would this no one win at?’

‘Gareth,’ John said and waiting for the “hmm” he knew would come, ‘shut up.’ 

‘Touchy. So who’d you fly over today?’

‘Some scientist called McKay; apparently he’s in command until they get a replacement boss.’

‘Do you ever wonder what they’re doing over there?’

‘Maybe they’re working on a cold fusion bomb to destroy the planet.’

‘Sour puss,’ Gareth stated with a chuckle. ‘Do we know anything about their new boss?’

‘Arrives day after tomorrow; a woman, diplomat, that’s all I got before I tuned him out. There’s no name for her on the board though.’

John glanced at the clock as Gareth contemplated the information; the man loved a good conspiracy theory, took whatever info he could and made stories out of it to tell people later.

‘I’m going for a drink, wanna come?’

‘With this information, are you insane?’ Gareth said watching as John shook his head and left the room.

The base bar was dark and damp and the evening night had settled in quickly. John could hear the howling of the wind outside as the standard evening snow storm kicked in; everyone who worked on the base was currently in the base, or dead.

He pulled his wallet out as he sat at the dingy bar and dropped a twenty on the side for the barkeep. Before he put it back in his pocket, he caught sight of something stuffed in the back. He took hold of the small corner of white and pulled it out.

It was a picture he’d shoved in the back to keep his mind from Elizabeth, one of three pictures he had of the beautiful woman. He remembered how he came to have this particular picture. Colin had brought it over with him the day after Elizabeth had inadvertently stood him up; he had shown this picture last.

John studied it, the dejected look on his own face, the way his own shoulders sagged and he looked somewhat uncomfortable at being near her. Elizabeth however was smiling wistfully at him, the look of love and passion in her eyes as she studied his face. It gave him goose bumps to think of her like that and brought about the memory of just how she’d looked when they’d first made love.

‘Pretty Lady,’ the bar keeper said as he placed a beer on the bar and John’s change next to it. ‘She your wife?’

‘No,’ John said knowing he sounded disheartened. ‘Just the love of my life that I’ll never get to see again, thanks to her mother.’

‘She didn’t like you sniffing around her daughter; my wife’s old lady was like that.’

‘Did she get you transferred out here?’ John asked looking at the man with a hint of hope.

‘No, but my condolences to you for that action, when was the last time you saw her?’

‘Four months, three weeks, two days and...’ John checked his watch, ‘twenty hours ago, I got a kiss before I climbed into the truck and headed out to Afghanistan. Since then, I’ve caught a glimpse of her as she tried to get to me before my flight took off for here.’

John took a large gulp of his beer and looked back down at the picture; it would be pure luck or intervention from God before he could see her again. He stuffed the picture back into his wallet and drained his glass.

‘You looking for something to numb the pain or a way to pass out?’

‘There’s a difference?’

‘One more,’ the keeper said and filled the glass, ‘but if you’re gonna drink like that, then that’s your limit.’

John chuckled and drank half the glass while the man fished out the money from the pile still sitting on the bar. He stared into the glass for what felt like ages before he downed the rest of its content and moved to stand up.

He swayed on the spot before heading to the bathroom on the far side of the room, inside; he filled the sink with water and dipped his face in it, the cold washing over him like a sweet kiss in the early morning sunlight.

He pulled out, dried off and headed back out to the bar; he picked up his wallet and stuffed it into his pocket, thanked the tender and headed for the door.

He reached out to grab the handle but withdrew it quickly as the door opened and a woman stepped in, her brown curls tucked behind her ears, her green eyes locked on him in shock and her lips on her beautiful face opened is awe. John considered that he was seeing things.

‘John?’ Elizabeth breathed as reality caught up. She stepped forward and without warning pulled him into a kiss that he would remember for the rest of his life.


	6. Chapter 6

His lips on her neck were blissful, a sensation coursing through her body like a wild brush fire jumping from bush to bush and tree to tree inside her.

She was pinned against the door of her room, his body flush against her own as he had worked from her lips, along her jaw line and down her throat. He sucked at her collar bone and Elizabeth let out a groan of pleasure.

She couldn’t remember anything that had happened in the bar, she remembered stepping in, seeing him on his way out and stopping, frozen for a moment as she realised the man in front of her wasn’t a part of her dreams; he was there. She remembered kissing him, and hearing the rising cheers and cat calls from the room of men, but after that, nothing.

She couldn’t bring herself to care as John’s hands made their way down her back to cup her backside, he squeezed hard lifting her from the ground and Elizabeth wrapped her legs around him letting the shoes she’d donned for the evening slip off her feet.

‘Is this where you’ve been,’ she asked breathlessly, ‘all these months?’ she asked as she worked his t-shirt up over his head and dropped it haphazardly to the floor. She grabbed at him roughly, her hands wanting to touch every part of him that she could reach.

‘All this time,’ he said and tightened his grip on her as if afraid she would vanish like she did in his dreams.

Elizabeth groaned again as one of John’s hands tugged at her shirt and she had to let go of him to pull it off by herself, his lips were suddenly on her chest, working lazily down towards her breasts when he stopped.

He lowered her to the ground and looked at her, confusion written all over his face.

‘Why are you here?’

‘There’s an outpost about an hour from here, I...’

‘You’re their new commanding officer!’

Elizabeth nodded, slightly put off that he knew about the outpost; it hadn’t occurred to her that everyone on the base would know about it, even though they were the only connection from the outpost to the real world.

John’s hands had been resting on her hips as they spoke, Elizabeth could feel his fingers twitching with anticipation, and her skin began to tingle as he moved his hands up over her stomach.

‘I should warn you,’ John said, cupping her breasts through her black bra, ‘one of the scientists, a Doctor McKay,’ he moved his hands to the front clasp and fiddled idly with it, ‘he talks a lot, mostly about himself.’

Elizabeth let out a low moan as John flicked his thumbs over her hardened nipples as he pulled the bra apart. Her head dropped back and hit the door with a thud.

‘I heard their...’ she sucked in a breath as John took a nipple into his mouth, ‘last commander left...’ she thread her fingers through his hair as he switched nipples, ‘because one of the scientists was...’ another deep breath as John planted kisses down her breast bone, ‘overly obnoxious.’

‘I’d say McKay fits into that category.’

Elizabeth shifted as John wrestled the button of her grey trousers open and looked down at his admiring face as he pried them down along with her black panties. Before he could do anything Elizabeth pulled him back to his feet and kissed him.

She had missed him, missed the feel of his body against hers, with or without clothes. She let her fingers drift down his back as they kissed, finding the waistband of his pants she traced them around to the front button and popped it open.

Without warning, she pushed him back, forcing him to the edge of her bed and into a sitting position. She crouched down in front of him and began to unlace his boots.

‘Just what have you done for fun without me?’

‘Nothing,’ John told her truthfully, ‘I don’t want other women, I want you,’ he added as she quirked an eyebrow at him. ‘There is a woman on base who would tell you she had her wicked way with me as soon as I stepped off the plane.’

‘Sabrina?’

‘You’ve met her?’ John asked raising his hips for her as she pulled his pants and boxers down.

‘I was five minutes away from slapping some sense into her.’

‘Sorry I wasn’t there to see it.’

Elizabeth looked up as she pushed his pants to the side and smiled, she couldn’t believe she was finally back with him, but from what she had been told, the location out here was only a temporary base for them while they looked for something... better.

She hung her head at the thought of losing him again, and then raised it quickly to give him a wicked smile as the thought of taking him with her came to mind. She was in command, the only person above her who she had to convince was General O’Neill, she had less than a month to find a reason he could come too.

Before John could open his mouth to speak, Elizabeth jumped up, pushing him back on the bed and pinning him in place with her body.

She could feel him, inch for glorious inch against her, his chest, the light sprinkle of hairs, his rising stomach as he breathed and above him, his erection, now trapped between them.

Elizabeth thought she had won, she grinned mischievously down at him for a moment before he moved, freeing his arms and reversing their positions. Only now, with her arms above her head, he trapped his erection between them at the perfect angle, she could feel the head of his cock pressing against her pussy.

Her head pressed back against the bed as he shifted, slipping his manhood through her sensitive lips. As he paused, her body twitched without her consent and she felt him shudder above her.

‘God you’re so beautiful,’ he said releasing her hands as he rested down along her body and kissed at her neck. Elizabeth moved her hands to his shoulders, caressing his skin as he moved from her neck to her left ear and then along her jaw to her mouth.

She was lost in the sensations he caused, his lips against her, his tongue probing gently into her mouth in a passionate kiss the likes of which she could only dream of and the friction of his body: chest hairs tickling her nipples as he rocked his hips against her and his cock along her silky lips.

Elizabeth pulled her legs up along his thighs to his backside and locked her ankles behind him, the angle this action caused made them both gasp; Elizabeth found he now rubbed against her clit on each forward thrust. She dropped her head and arched her back to press herself against him.

Still rubbing against her, John took the opportunity of her arched back to suck one of her nipples into his mouth, she cried out at the sensation.

‘John,’ she breathed suddenly gripping his hips to still his movements, ‘do you have a condom?’ As she waited for his answer, she pulled her hands back and ran her fingers over his face; she wanted to remember every part of it, just in case.

‘It’s required in every bathroom,’ he breathed and kissed her fingers.

Elizabeth watched him as he climbed from the bed, padded across the cold floor into the bathroom and returned with the foil packet.

‘Would you care to do the honours?’

‘Definitely,’ Elizabeth replied as she sat up. She took the packet and ripped the content out as he kneeled on the bed beside her. She took hold of him in her left hand and looked up at his face as she gave him a few powerful strokes before she eased the rubber condom into place.

Keeping her hands around him, Elizabeth stretched up onto her knees and kissed him, she lingered at a distance, teasing him slightly. Unexpectedly she found herself flat on her back; John had pulled her legs from under her and was in the process of dragging his nails lightly down her body.

The touch sent shivers down her spine and Elizabeth arched up as he reached between her legs and rubbed circles around her clit.

‘John,’ she breathed again and was rewarded as his fingers left her and he pressed easily inside her. ‘Oh God,’ Elizabeth said with a shudder and John pushed in as far as possible. She clenched around him, and felt him twitch, it was almost enough to cause her to let go.

Elizabeth raised her hips as he began to thrust, keeping a rhythm that was fast, but not too fast to end it all too soon. She was in paradise, her surroundings melted away as her eyes locked with John’s and she lost herself in and around him.

Before too long, they were panting together as they moved into each other, both close to the edge yet far enough away to keep control, until Elizabeth realised John had moved his hands. 

The whole time, they had been resting on her hips, keeping her in place as he moved, at some point he had given her free movement and Elizabeth could feel his coarse fingers brushing against one of her nipples before drawing circles down her stomach.

Elizabeth closed her eyes as he brushed his finger over the sensitive skin between them; she tightened dangerously around his length as she cried out her orgasm. She barely felt John’s orgasm as she drifted quickly into a blissful slumber. She felt him move to her side and pull her close before she slipped away.

~~**~~

The best night’s sleep she’d had in months, four of them if she was counting; she’d spent the majority of her nights since John had been pulled away from her crying herself to sleep with Colin in the room, she remembered the first night, with him behind her as she gazed at the picture of them kissing in the photo booth.

She felt relaxed for the first time in ages, and it was all because she’d stumbled across the man of her dreams, literally. Until Daniel’s words slithered back into her mind, he had set this up; he knew John was here when he’d sent that letter of recommendation to the president for Elizabeth to take this place out here in the coldest waste land on Earth. 

She shrugged it off as she pulled her jacket close around her and looked out the window at the beautiful snow as John made the flight with her to the outpost.

‘You okay?’

‘Just cold,’ she told him running her hands up and down her arms to keep her blood flowing.

‘We’re almost there, then you can be as bossy as you like,’ John joked. She knew she’d never live down being a commander, he’d forever be telling her how bossy she could be, but it didn’t bother her.

Ten minutes later Elizabeth found herself stepping out of the helicopter at the outpost to be greeted by an over enthusiastic man who practically bounced out to her and introduced himself as Rodney McKay. Elizabeth stole a quick goodbye wink over her shoulder as the Doctor led her to the warmth of the base. 

As she stepped into the elevator, she looked out at the landing pad and saw John waving at her for a moment before he climbed back into the vehicle and started up the engine. She gave him and encouraging smile as she descended into her new life as Commander of the Atlantis Expedition.


End file.
